Tag: Matty Simmons

In National Lampoon’s Vacation, Hughes along with uncredited screenwriters, director Harold Ramis and Chevy Chase, tell the story of a white, middle-class, suburban family and their journey cross-country during their annual two-week vacation. It was a relatable story to many North American’s, who during the 70s and 80s would travel across country for days to visit family or holiday destinations, without the distraction of iPads, cassette decks or even decent radio coverage. Vacation tapped into the collective memory of being stuck in long car rides alongside the family. In the off-colour comedic-style of the National Lampoon Magazine, the film tackled race, incest, infidelity and animal welfare, alongside its observations of family values, the fallout of Reaganomics, and urban crime. It also proved that Hughes’ work could be great when placed in the hands of a skilled director that shared his sense of humour, and was able to step somewhat outside the insular suburban-world that would become Hughes stock-in-trade.

National Lampoon’s Vacation is available on iTunes, Amazon Video, and probably a bunch of other places.

John Hughes’ first film National Lampoon’s Class Reunion is a seldom-seen but seminal work in the career of John Hughes. Released October 29, 1982, Mike Miller (Silent Rage) directs a Bechdel Test–passing film which features the “undistinguished” talents of Gerrit Graham (Used Cars), Michael Lerner (Barton Fink), Stephen Furst (Animal House), Mews Small (One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest), Blackie Dammett, and a superfluous appearance by the legendary Chuck Berry.

National Lampoon’s Class Reunion is currently unavailable to stream legally but can be purchased used on DVD.

Special guest stars: Tanya as Tish Sweater, and Kelly Hopeless as herself!

The final part in Pretty in Podcast’s sub-series inspired by The Joy of Sex. This instalment deals with the 1984 release, The Joy of Sex, written by Kathleen Rowell and JJ Salter, directed by Martha Coolidge, and starring Michelle Meyrink, Colleen Camp, Ernie Hudson, and Christopher Lloyd.

The Joy of Sex is available to stream via Amazon Prime and ePix. (There are no spoilers in the podcast episode)

Part of Pretty in Podcast’s sub-series inspired by the works of John Hughes. The Joy of Sex led me down a worm hole of a larger story that needed to be broken up into a few parts. This part is the John Hughes part, which involves a remarkable cast of characters, including Penny Marshall, John Belushi, Michael Eisner, and Dan Greenburg. National Lampoon’s The Joy of Sex was to be Penny Marshall’s directorial debut, and was the last movie John Belushi was negotiating to star in. Had Belushi not died, this could have also been John Hughes’ first produced script.

In the third episode of Pretty in Podcast, I talk about John Hughes’ first script National Lampoon’s Jaws 3, People 0 (written with Tod Carroll) and clear up a lot of the myths that surround the production. Jaws 3, People 0 would have been a Joe Dante film featuring Stephen Furst, Bo Derek and Rodger Bumpass, with an appearance by Sid Sheinberg.

In the second episode of Pretty in Podcast, John Hughes leaves his job at Leo Burnett to be an editor for the National Lampoon in the wake of the release of National Lampoon’s Animal House, and the spin-off of the movie, Delta House.

This episode was recorded after watching Delta House episode two, “The Shortest Yard,” written by John Hughes, on YouTube. Since this episode’s release, YouTube now hosts 12 of the 13 episodes. Unfortunately, the seventh episode “The Deformity,” penned by John Hughes is still unavailable. Find them here.